Leptopelis natalensis
Silhouette: Maija Karala · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Natal forest tree frog (Leptopelis natalensis) is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae, subfamily Leptopelinae, and is endemic to the eastern coastal area of South Africa. A typical tree frog, it has large eyes and a broad mouth. Its colouration is highly variable: Some may be bright green, others cream coloured, and some may be cream with olive-green blotches.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, subtropical forests, swamps, intermittent freshwater marshes, and rural gardens. It is threatened by habitat loss. These frogs usually live in the foliage and branches of forest trees. They lay eggs on banks of ponds and quiet streams, or on broad leaves near the water's edge. The tadpoles hatch and drop into the water where they grow and develop into frogs. Its call is somewhat akin to "bwee YACK-yack". The first part of the call being described as "soft buzzing".
Forest tree frog Structured guide to the species in southern Africa Wikipedia →
Recording0:18
South Africa · 2023
© Joplo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:12
South Africa · 2024
© Luke Lerotholi · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:18
South Africa · 2019
© Peter Vos · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Antonio Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Natal Forest Tree Frog sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 97 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 22 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to February
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Natal Forest Tree Frog in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and September, the lowest months. Those are among iSimangaliso Wetland Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against 30 mm in July.
Between 6 and 9 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Natal Forest Tree Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only iSimangaliso Wetland Park, in our data
iSimangaliso Wetland Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Natal Forest Tree Frog sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Natal Forest Tree Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (97 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
